Chapter 6 November 37 Diary 1

The sky was slightly clouded, but there were no airstrikes.We can do our thing quietly. The rain was falling in big drops, and the mountains could not be seen, and everything was submerged in the clouds.Nevertheless, an alarm sounded at 9:15 and we had to interrupt our routine business visit. At 9:30, a Chinese plane flew past only 200 meters from our house, and the alarm was cleared again.I heard that if there is a Chinese bomber in the sky, the alarm is also issued now.People wanted to prevent the exposure of the places where the Chinese hid their planes. Mr. LA Schmidt sent a telegram from Shanghai and said: "Please call for the food you need." There must be a great worry from his wife behind it.She tried to send me a box of crispbreads in Tientsin, but failed, and Mr. Schmidt will do it now.I replied, "Thank you very much. I have enough groceries for the present." For I do have everything I need, and brown bread will do if I don't have crunchy bread.I just got back from the doctor and my blood sugar is normal except for the palpitations that sometimes get worse, worse at 3 in the morning.This is a neurological phenomenon, maybe it can be cured, I want to try it, maybe I am using too much insulin.

According to Chiang Kai-shek's order, the survivors of the "death battalion" withdrew from the warehouse.Chiang Kai-shek did it right!Nearly 100 soldiers had been killed in the warehouse, and there would be losses as the last men were withdrawn, and then the episode was over.But it also provides proof that Chinese soldiers die well if necessary. Still an excellent rainy day. There was an alarm at 14:45 but it was canceled 15 minutes later.No one knows why the alarm was sounded!Maybe just trying to interfere with my nap, they don't want to be entertained even a little bit.A recent bulletin in one of the newspapers here said that the authorities are about to inspect all the bomb shelters in the city to see whether they are functional, that is, whether they are well built and adequately protected.I didn't pay attention to the newsletter at the time.Now someone is secretly telling me that this is the result of my humorous article signed by "Old Raven" in the Shanghai German newspaper "Far East News".Even though it wasn't the case, he invented it well!This is exactly what I want.Perhaps not many problems were detected, although it was mentioned in that newspaper newsletter that the deficient shelters would be rebuilt or repaired as necessary.Sadly, only the very rich can afford to build a real bomb shelter.This requires thick trees or rails, quite a lot of sand and more reinforced concrete!It's a pity we don't have any of these things!None at all!

The sky was overcast with rain from time to time, and no day planes came to us.Unfortunately, I have a bad cold.Headache, low-grade fever, sore throat, hoarse throat, cough, pulse 95 beats per minute, palpitations, kept me up all night.The doctor said: "It's not serious!!" Well, I think I'm sick!But there must be something wrong with me.Because, there was an "alarm" tonight, and I must have not heard it, so I am still "foolish"!Can't go on like this!Immediately the doctor gave me (presumably to cure the "stupid disease") the medicines Trane, Digitalis, Acridine, Adalene and bromine.Also, I actively took aspirin.By the time I see the bill (drugs cost 3x here today) I'm half cured, hopefully the other half will be cheaper!Just don't let my wife know, otherwise she will walk from Tianjin to Nanjing along the tracks of the Jinpu Railway regardless of the Japanese.Also I was thinking about whether I should have my wife come after Mrs. Trautmann (the wife of the German ambassador) arrived here.What an ambassador can do, we can do too! !Although I think it's really unwise!

If a Hamburger and a Berliner come together, there is usually a difference of opinion.This must be due to the reason why they were argumentative in ancient times, that is to say, each of them claimed to have the greatest "quick tongue", that is, the greatest eloquence.Of course I'm on the side of the Hamburgers.Hamburgers may exaggerate, and their words may be discounted; but Berliners are pure "boasting", which is even worse!For example, Berliners say: "A fool is a fool, there is no cure, not even aspirin!" That's not true!The aspirin did the trick for me, and today I feel better. After 3 days of toad swelling, I started writing a diary again today.Thank goodness!

The Japanese took awe-inspiring care of my illness (I had a bad cold).For the first 3 days almost nothing happened, at least in Nanjing.The general situation of the battle did not affect me, so my body has recovered. The Chinese have high hopes for the nine-nation conference currently taking place in Brussels.They always think, you should see, America will help us!Ah, I hope so.But I'm not convinced of that.There were already open complaints in England that British trade with Japan had decreased because Britain was hated in Japan.When it comes to "pounds" or "dollars", it is no joke, whether it is the United Kingdom or the United States.The first is doing business, and the Chinese people and things like that are far behind.Some people say that the UK now needs to vigorously protect its trade interests in China, especially along the Yangtze River.Why go to war with Japan?No, still don't fight! !Besides, they have also invested in Japan, and there are quite a few of them.As it is in the UK, so it is in the US.It can be seen from this that how much hope can be placed on the entire conference?They will certainly try to broker a compromise peace.But China does not want this peace.China is demanding assurances from the Nine that it is defending inviolability.Perhaps imposing sanctions by issuing them would help, but even that is problematic, as Japan has already threatened to increase security on China's coastline if it gets us into trouble with sanctions (oil embargo, etc.) The blockade, that is, the suspension of all the privileges which the European countries and the United States have hitherto enjoyed.Then Japan declared war on China!Until then it was only a "friendly dispute"!Poor China!

We were indeed amazed to read reports of Chinese troops fighting against disciplined Japanese forces in Shanghai, and it was a conscription army (although the Nanking government instituted universal compulsory military service, it was not enforced).Although Nanking's best troops trained by German military advisers (it is said that two-thirds of these advisers have been killed) were sent to Shanghai, what can even the best troops do if they cannot get enough equipment?In terms of equipment, it is too far behind!Japan's modern army is equipped with heavy artillery, countless tanks and bombers, etc., and its strength far exceeds that of the Chinese army.These are issues that cannot be ignored.Of course Japan understands best why their attack cannot wait too long.In another four or five years, it will face a Chinese people's army, and this people's army has a great chance of defeating it.The Japanese are unwilling to take this risk!

Still pouring rain, exactly as we had hoped for! The food has not been good lately, but I haven't figured out whether it's the "war problem" or the "servant problem".Our housekeeper took 3 days off and during his absence he called in a substitute who was more than happy to speak perfect undeniable Shanghai Pidgin English.We had the following conversation at breakfast this morning: Master: Come here!What's the matter with ham and fried eggs that taste fishy? Servant: There is nothing to do with the chicken, master, there is no real food to eat now, only fish.

Master: But butter is also ignorant. Do you think cows only eat fish? Servant: I don't know at all.Master, I'm going to ask it. Now I really want to know, what the cow will answer!If he had cleaned the frying pan, it might have washed the smell of whale oil away.I'm going to suggest this because there's a good chance that my dugout guests are all using this skillet - that is, my skillet! Other than that there is no news! Today was the first sunny day after a while of rain, the sky was clear and there was no bombing!The respectable Japanese gentlemen either forgot about us, or were too busy in Shanghai.It looked pitch black in the air-raid shelter below!

Today we are doing "big cleaning" here.The shelters were being drained all over the city, with military and firefighters helping in some places.I don't need help here.Although we had 2 feet of groundwater in our "hero's basement," we drained it ourselves, that is, with buckets and food cans. While I was away on a routine business visit, I heard quite a bit of bad news.It seems that a "quasi-red sentiment" is gradually spreading among the Chinese people.Mr. Ribe had told me some time ago that the workers at the power plant were all "red" to a certain extent.Someone asked him directly if it was better to be a communist?The Russians seem to be doing a lot of covert propaganda here.Today a business friend (a man who went to college in the United States, I don't want to give his name) told me privately that all educated Chinese believe that if Americans and Europeans are in Brussels Abandon China in Congress, they will all turn to Bolshevism.The Chinese hated the Japanese so much that they would rather be controlled by Russia than Japan.What a thoughtful consideration! !Thanks! !Where will China be led?It is said that the road connection with Shanghai has been cut off since yesterday.For the first time, no English newspaper in Shanghai (that is, the newspaper on November 7) was received.

Beautiful aviation weather, but no air raids. This is likely to have something to do with the war in Shanghai.The newspapers in Shanghai did not arrive today either.The Shanghai radio broadcast said that Shanghai has fallen, that is to say, there is no longer a Chinese soldier in the Shanghai area.In this way, the connection between Nanjing and Shanghai was completely cut off, and as long as the land road was blocked, it could not be restored, at least temporarily.As for whether the waterway can pass, it will take a few days to see.A similar situation had already occurred here in early 1932.If there are no other problems except that the Shanghai mail cannot arrive for a while, I will forget it.However, there is a good chance that there will be one or another problem associated with it, such as lack of food, etc.What will happen at that time, no one knows for the time being, and I don't know at all.

Mr. Han (Xianglin) said that even if the Chinese had to retreat to Tibet, they would not make peace.But the words of Mr. Han (Xianglin) alone cannot be counted.Japanese General Matsui in Shanghai had predicted 10 days earlier that the Chinese army would be driven out of Shanghai on November 9th.He hit the mark.He also claimed that with the fall of Shanghai, the war ended.If he's on point in this matter, I won't object.The Chinese did indeed defend heroically!Even the Japanese have to admit this.The reason why the Chinese could not win the war was because they lacked the modern technological equipment of the Japanese.We heard from the radio that Taiyuan has also fallen today.So, as we have said, we are at the end of our rope here for the time being.If it is true that the Nine in Brussels does not come to a resolution that China agrees to without losing face (which seems likely at the moment), I think the next step the Japanese will take is to oust the Chinese government, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, from the Out of Nanjing.I can imagine it wouldn't be too difficult.According to my judgment, it is undoubtedly not easy for the Japanese army to advance by land. It needs to break through a front line similar to the "Hindenburg Line of Defense", and there will be heavy casualties.It is not so easy to conquer the waterway, at least the mine blockade on the Yangtze River must be cleared, and the fortress near Jiangyin must be destroyed.From what I've heard, the Japanese army could only do that with a massive poison gas attack, and I'm sure the Japanese would actually do the same. But there is another way, which has been announced before, to strengthen the air strikes on Nanjing.I am told that the Japanese currently have nearly 600 aircraft in Shanghai.It is said that during the previous large-scale battles, under the cover of a large number of fighter planes and escort planes, 60 to 100 bombers dropped bombs at the same time.If such an air force attacked Nanking, there is no doubt that they would achieve their purpose.I hope (God forbid) it doesn't get to this point.If it does come to this point, I'd rather stay on board the "Kutwo" at that time.But don't say unlucky words!You idiot!God bless!God bless!God bless!Let's forget about that kind of prophecy.The more one broods, the worse one's mood becomes.A modern war is a hell on earth. We are experiencing this disaster in China. Compared with a new world war in Europe, it may mean that it is just a child's play.May good fortune spare us from this! ! How interesting, I just got mail from the north: Wife from Peiping on October 31st, Otto from Salem on October 6th, Gretel from Haltern on October 9th A letter from Willy from Berlin on October 8, and even Ursi attached a picture he drew.This is the great news I received from the whole family in one day.Otto told me that he wanted to visit Gretel for four or five days on October 25 before going to Munich to enlist.Gretel gets word from Berlin that Willie is coming to China again (hope it's true!).In fact Willi lived alone in Berlin. Overcast with low clouds.Nevertheless, at 13:15 the alarm was sounded.About nine planes criss-crossed the city, and anti-aircraft guns fired heavily at them to no avail.There was an explosion all the way back and forth.When fragments of anti-aircraft shells began to crackle on the surrounding roofs, I immediately ordered everyone to take shelter in the bomb shelter.The only exception was Ribe, who was standing in the school corridor looking at the sky with my 18x Zeiss binoculars.Every time, when we escaped such a "torrential rain" and came out safely, I was always very happy.However, it is increasingly difficult to urge people to hide in the air-raid shelter in time.For God's blessing, nothing has happened so far, and they have become paralyzed.They wouldn't have believed there was danger if I hadn't thrown a savage fire now and then.Our bomb shelter was soft with water, and we worked hard to get the groundwater out.We had to drain the water for hours on end.Everything is wet and slippery, and today I just slid straight down the steps and got my pants dirty and humiliated.In order for this to never happen again, a masonry step must now be built. At 14:45, the danger passed.I noticed that no Chinese anti-aircraft aircraft were in the air.Are there no anti-aircraft aircraft anymore?Perhaps that's no surprise! Today our office boys and servants are called up to serve in the army.They're in their early 30s to mid-35s, and they probably only train for a few hours in the morning, leaving the rest of the day free. Now we have only sources here for "Ocean Telecom Service", which is a four-page folio tabloid of "Dalu Bao" (Nanjing Edition), usually just a copy of "Ocean Telecom" way to gloss over the enormous losses suffered by the Chinese in a brief "editor's note".As long as we can hear Shanghai Radio, we will of course know what happened and its seriousness.We no longer have much hope, the current situation is "difficult to say".We have to resign ourselves to that too!The military advisers who returned from the Shanghai front reported that a group of lightly wounded soldiers were wandering around in the rear of the front and did not observe discipline.People can only go out at night with a Mauser in their hands! On November 8, "Ocean Telecom" from Tokyo was very interesting. It reported as follows: The Six Powers knew exactly why they could not accuse the Japanese of violating the Washington Agreement.Because in this way, Japan has more reason to make such accusations against the United Kingdom and the United States.For example, on March 23, 1923, American and British gunboats bombarded Nanjing, and this behavior was agreed by the United States at the time.They seem to want us Japanese to believe that the hostile attacks against China by the British gunboats in 1927 and the American gunboats in 1930 were only self-defense measures.So, of course they also have to agree that Japan has the same rights! A brilliant diplomatic move!At that time, other countries were fighting against Chinese Bolshevism, or they were protecting themselves from Bolsheviks.Today, Japan did this, but everyone shouted!If you put on a pair of Japanese glasses (there are a group of people in Europe wearing such glasses to lobby), the world looks different! Haha, the clouds are dense, and they are thick clouds.The water in my bomb shelter has been "almost" drained, and I've built several nice masonry steps.We are ready!The situation in the morning was fine, everything was calm.But at 1:15 in the afternoon, Ribe and I were sitting there having lunch.The servant said that the alarm had sounded and we should eat a little faster.We didn't hear the first siren signal because the music from Radio Shanghai was too good.Despite the war, Armistice Day was being celebrated there.No sooner had we swallowed our last morsel than there was an explosion.We counted nine planes, one of which was a heavy bomber that was slowly approaching our house.Later, when one of them flew down low, I had already entered the air-raid shelter, and all my Chinese guests were hiding in it.Only Ribe is still outside, and he thinks that the cover of the former school building is enough.To the north and south, bombs rained down, with the familiar "music" of flak and machine guns at every corner.Suddenly cheers erupted outside: the flak hit a bomber.In a blink of an eye, everyone in the air-raid shelter ran away, and everyone wanted to go and have a look.The plane broke in two and plummeted to the ground in flames and smoke.We saw two of the crew of about 5-7 jumping out of the fire and smoke (without parachutes).The Arrogant Bomber left behind nothing but debris and corpses after 20 seconds. At 14:15, all danger passed. Once again the most startling rumors were circulating in the city.A government agency is said to have issued a warning that everyone must pre-cook meals for 3 days, because there will be a big bombing, so there will be no time to cook.That is to say, after 8 days of rain, you have to squat for 3 days in the air-raid shelter where water is still dripping everywhere.What a "beautiful" prospect!Let's hope it's not as serious as predicted.Other rumors say that peace talks have begun behind closed doors.I nodded my head to show that I knew what others told me, but of course I didn’t know anything, and I didn’t hear much more than they knew.However, I am a smart "old bird" and I must do this for my reputation! Today I received another letter from Salem, dated October 11, from Otto.He's still picking apples, but not for long, only 12 days. Wife got a routine telegram from me today: "7 o'clock, all is well. Hguk, Johnny" "Hguk" means "greetings and kisses".I have to economize on telegrams too! It was luck that the rain was falling in big drops.Otherwise, maybe there are Japanese people visiting.After confirming that not one, but two bombers were shot down here yesterday (for the enemy, it means not only casualties, but also a loss of about 500,000 yuan at the same time), the Japanese will definitely send their planes to the front soon to revenge. Today was off the charts.Cai (Ziliang), a handyman in the office, came to report and said: "The police want you to raise the Chinese flag." Of course I flatly refused.As a German, I will not raise another flag to replace the swastika.The handyman Cai (Ziliang) left, but sent the servant Zhang (Guozhen) here.He said: "Cai (Ziliang) made a mistake. Please fly the flag at half-mast (two German flags fly here day and night). Today is the official day of mourning." Let's fly the flag at half-staff!Just after the flag was lowered at half-mast, I glanced at the calendar and realized that today is the birthday anniversary of the late Dr. Sun Yat-sen.At this time, I couldn't bear it anymore, and I blamed Cai (Ziliang) and Zhang (Guozhen).The two national flags were hoisted again.It turned out that the police just made a request: Today is the Memorial Day, please raise the flag no matter what.What did the abdicated king of Saxony say? "I see you are all jealous Republicans!" I also said this to my subordinates, but in Chinese, and emphasized the tone!In order to reconcile with me, they only spent 5 yuan when they bought 29 straw mats to cover the air-raid shelter. This is because they voluntarily gave up the discount, otherwise it would cost 14 yuan.If the air-raid shelter is not covered with straw mats, it is likely to become a cave similar to a stalactite cave when it rains.If that's the start of the day, there's usually a cascade of these things going on. A German woman whose name I have never heard called me just now: "Oh, please send your engineer at once, my sewing machine is broken!" "Ma'am," I replied, "we are 'Siemens', not 'Singer'!" "I know," she said, "I've been to 'Singer', he's stupid. I'm going to try it with you now, because it's an electric Sewing machine!" "What should I do? I'll send Mr. Song, our telephone installer, to visit tomorrow. He won't be free today, and he's repairing the freezer in the Hempel Hotel." Looks like business is going to be booming again. La! We have received a telegram from Hong Kong which is overly terse.It took a lot of effort to figure out that we were sent to see the so-and-so officer (the commander-in-chief of such-and-such province).This person is said to be a close friend of Siemens Matheson.In view of future business, we must maintain the most friendly relationship with him.Hong Kong offered to pay the full cost of our reception of the transiting magistrate.So we searched all the hotels and found his place.Immediately went there, greeted respectfully, and after half an hour of sweet talk (of course about business), we realized that this "commander" was not the one we wanted me at all, but his first squire or something like that.So I put on a straight face, and finally the real commander showed up.That's the way things are right.Alas——, and so on, I will stop writing here today.There is enough of this kind of dumbfounding.I'm going to have a drink with Ribe at Hempel's now! Another call from the lady who had to fix the sewing machine: "I'd like Mr. Engineer to come this afternoon." "I'd love to, ma'am." (You can see me in the moonlight!) We miscalculated the Japanese again!Although the aviation weather is very good, so far, the expected retaliatory air strikes have not occurred.Of course, we do not praise our enemies for this, especially the news just now from a local representative of a Shanghai transportation company that Mr. Ribet's suitcase and a wooden box have all been blown up.The suitcase contained winter supplies for him and his colleague Emer, and the wooden box contained special tools for installing the turbine.The boxes were loaded on a truck and left Shanghai on November 3.The box was bombed when it stopped in Songjiang on the way from Shanghai to here, and the box of food that was given to me was probably also bombed at that time.From here the cars sent out to meet the trucks returned empty, with all their cargo lost. China Post does not give in! The letter of November 5 and the newspapers of November 6-8 have just arrived here from Shanghai.As usual, there were news reports promoting friendship with Soviet Russia.In order to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, on November 7, the "Mainland Daily" (Nanjing Edition) published a special issue with many excellent photographs and articles, which naturally praised the Soviet Union.People may think that Soviet Russia is a paradise on earth, and Stalin is an angel of peace.Poor China - it's been lied to! On Sunday, the weather was fine and there was no bombing.Mr. Han said: "Japanese people don't like to come on Sunday." He doesn't know why. "Maybe they want to rest." This reminded me of Mr. Yong, our comprador in Tianjin.This person is very lazy, and only writes down which customers he has visited and which transactions he has participated in when writing a daily diary.Every Sunday, he wrote with his usual sharpness: "Today is Sunday, a day off. No business for a whole day!" The Chinese are very pessimistic at the moment, everyone is pacing up and down with their mouths curled up.This is certainly understandable.The situation is simply dire.Radio stations in Shanghai reported that the Japanese had cleared the water fence near Nanshi (an obstacle on the river used to stop ships from passing), and were sailing their warships up the current.They dealt with the first boom, and they might do the same with the second and third.I have long had an ominous premonition in my heart (my wife calls this subconscious): the Japanese will one day drive their warships to appear in Shimonoseki.For the cannons on board, I, a Hamburger, am filled with awe. Ribe originally wanted to go to Hankou this morning, but he failed.There are no other seats other than the "deck room" on the Jardine Matheson ship.That's what Hapro, which originally wanted to buy a boat ticket, said.A Hapro man was going to take the ship the same day, and he didn't think the "between decks" was decent enough.If I were him, I'd accept "between decks" and sit in first class, waiting for the captain or first mate to make proper arrangements for me.British people are always polite to Europeans. The weather in autumn is sunny and pleasant, as if something is brewing in the sky, we must have a visitor today.At noon, the sky was covered with thin clouds, ideal for aviation.All was quiet, however, until the alarm sounded at 2 p.m. 10 minutes later, a second alarm is sounded. At 2:30, 6 Japanese planes appeared.They came under heavy anti-aircraft fire, but missed.There must have been other bombers bombing in the south of the city, because there was the sound of machine gun fire and the sound of about 15 bombs falling. At 3:15, the alarm was lifted.Counselor Fischer of the embassy visited.He wanted to buy a short-wave radio for the Kutwo, but he couldn't.Telefunken Germany can provide, but have to wait for 3 weeks.He asked me to ask the Ministry of Communications if I could sell them a radio station of this type.It's hopeless, but I promise to do my best.I was immediately rejected. In the Ministry of Communications, I was convinced that the government was preparing to evacuate Nanking.The corridors and offices of the Ministry of Communications are full of suitcases and wooden boxes.People planned to move to Changsha on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.I went to the Ministry of Railways, and a handyman there secretly told me that the Ministry of Railways will also be packing boxes tomorrow.Why?Because the Japanese have already arrived near Kunshan, about 30 miles away from Suzhou.Several concluded that the Japanese had crossed Soochow.However, this is not true.The Shanghai radio announcer confirmed the news about Kunshan.I called on the German Ambassador Trautmann and his wife and had tea together.There I met General Spemann from Taiyuan. The Kutwo may have sent the women and some other valuables to Hankou before returning here to pick up the rest of the embassy. "As soon as the Chinese government flees, the embassy will have to evacuate," they told me.Otherwise, stay in the enemy-occupied area.While I was considering where I should stay, Mrs. Dr. Schroeder and her husband arrived.I was taken aback.At such a critical moment, Mrs. Schroeder returned here from Hankou.She said she was going to pick her husband up.He even said he would take me away!Omg, please! ! Rainy day, no air visitors.But I was in a bad mood, Nanjing was very dull, just like before the storm.The servants were scolded for not covering the shelter properly when it rained.If I don't worry about everything myself, no one moves.They all seem to have been hypnotized, and they are also like mice in a snake cage.The ocean company was also scolded for knocking out a pipe in the house, breaking a washbasin, losing or stealing a door latch.Later, my mood gradually improved a lot!Moeller and I (Riebe had a cold and was lying in bed) drove from Hapro Company to Swire Pacific and booked tickets for him and Ribe on the "Wuling" (transliteration) ship from here to Hankou on November 20.All the cabins were fully booked, so we could only book individual seats.Not so good, but with a few kind words on the way, maybe they'll still get a berth in the cabin.Most importantly, they were able to leave Nanjing. As I heard in the embassy, ​​"Kutwo" did not intend to send the women to Hankou first.People have already estimated that the situation will change a few days later, that is, the fall of Nanjing.Therefore, the women are asked to board the ship with their luggage on November 18, and then wait for news on the ship near Xiaguan to see if the Chinese have blocked the waterway to Hankou.If there is a blockade, the ships transporting the Germans will not sail to Hankou, but to Shanghai.All day long, I've made up my mind to stay here to the end.At this time, I heard that the retreating Chinese army was looting wantonly in Suzhou.This made me worry.Besides, it was thought that Nanking would have resisted the approaching Japanese even if Japanese warships bombarded the city with cannon from the river.That's terrible!Then again, what should I do with so many Chinese who rely on me? ?Mr. Han advanced his wages again.He originally wanted to quickly send his wife and children to Qingdao via Jinan, where he had friends.Now he hears that the road is dead.A railway bridge in front of Jinan (at Luokou?) was blown up by the Chinese in order to make it difficult for the Japanese to advance.I have seen this step before, but no one wants to believe me.If this continues, the Japanese will reach a place not far from the Yellow River or on the bank of the Yellow River.At that time Mr. Han may have to send his family to Hankou as well.He is still waiting for a family of close friends to accompany his family.I hope he doesn't hesitate too long. A lot of mail came from Shanghai, dated November 6th to 10th, and newspapers from November 10th to 12th. Mr. Fisher of Lihe Yangxing came back from Shanghai by boat through the canal and other rivers.He said Mr. Watzel was on a business trip to Europe these days but left his wife and children here.Really brave people.What is it if it is not boldness? Just now my friend Mr. Wang and his wife came.He was an engineer at the Military Communications School and his wife was Austrian.They wanted to go to "Kutwo".I asked the ambassador for instructions, but was refused.Wives can go on board, but husbands, like every Chinese, are not allowed on board.And the wife doesn't want to leave her husband alone.I advised them to go to Hankou immediately (if possible that night).They left sadly. The "Kutwo" had only 50 berths, but it was used to accommodate 112 Germans who might be on board. Still rainy, we welcome it.We really don't need bombs now, it's a mess.All through the night the streets were bustling with cars, trucks and even tanks rumbling along slowly and heavily.The great migration of government began.I heard that Mr. Lin Sen, the chairman of the Nationalist Government of China, has left.I am worried for Mr. Han's family.They must leave, and quickly.There were many late letters from Shanghai, and there were also telegrams from the United Iron and Steel Company, all five or six days ago.There's no point in focusing on any one project now.Couldn't find a single person to talk business with, everyone was packing up, including me in the end!The book I wrote myself is packaged.Now it's the clothes, then the silverware (how sweet) and the few remaining items are quickly boxed and my address stamped on the box.I withdrew money from the bank because I was advised to bring cash.Banks are closing anyway.Late last night, I received a notice from the German Rescue Committee (No. 1, November 16, 1937), in which Article 5 stated: Each family is only allowed to bring one servant to "Kutwo".When I read this, I decided to smuggle Mr. Han up there as my servant.Engineer Wang came again. He wanted to borrow money from me, but was politely declined.He only borrowed money from us a few months ago when he was sending his mother-in-law and sister-in-law home, and the money has not been returned.I showed him the notice from the Rescue Committee and advised him to board Kutwo as his wife's "servant".He immediately understood the hint and walked away satisfied.In this way, he not only saved money, but also got a proper placement with his wife at the same time. As soon as he left, Mrs. Ella Gao (General Gao's wife, German nationality) and her daughter (born to the general's first wife, Chinese nationality) came.The two ladies just came from Peiping not long ago and thought everything was safe here.fantasy!不过两个人看起来已经了解了情况，她们表示必要（？）时要上“库特沃”，好像以为别人肯定不会拒绝她们，我看可能也不会拒绝。她们来是请我帮助她们看管这里房子的，万一日本人来了的话，我当然一口答应。可怜的拉贝还能派什么用场呢？ !特劳特曼夫人像往常一样无比客气、亲切，一千次地请求原谅她的打扰，她问我们这座城市是不是真的有220伏交流电。 “是的，阁下，我们有！”是什么使可怜的大使夫人感到那么烦恼，大使馆总不可能去买一台涡轮机吧。原来她担心的只是一台无线电收音机，特劳特曼博士阁下不敢给它接电源。我在这里公开泄露此事有些不大恭敬。不过，大使馆里出现了一台蓝点牌收音机，而我们的装配工人不会接电源！据说是因为他看不懂标签上的文字。这可能是骗人，这个懒虫只会接通他的（德律风根牌）收音机！ 我刚从下关回来，目睹了妇女们和行李上船的情景。中山码头十分拥挤，不过一切显得从容不迫、有条不紊。王太太带着“佣人”已经到了那里，施罗德太太和她丈夫也在，还有一大群十分熟悉的人。我现在恐怕也得考虑把我的几个皮箱送上船去。佣人张（国珍）已经积极地打好了行李。韩先生准备怎样把他的家人送走，我还不清楚。通往下关的路上，行进着成百上千辆装满了行李的人力车，以及跟车的中国人，他们都想乘坐那几条即将驶往上游的轮船到安全的地方去。新征召来的士兵队伍让人触目惊心：所有的人都穿着有些破烂的平民衣服，背着行李卷儿，臂上挎着一枝生了锈的火枪。如果连这些人都得不到训练和军服的话，可见处境已经十分困难。但愿这不会带来什么恶果！我现在也听说日本人为什么最近能如此迅速推进的原因了。张学良（北方军）的大约5000名士兵在苏州拒绝执行命令。听说蒋介石亲自去了苏州，动用了一个团的精锐部队，解除了这帮反叛者的武装。这位统帅可不轻松，真佩服他的干劲！在最高统帅亲自干预以后，据说苏州的中方阵地稳住了。由于日本人的迂回攻势，“兴登堡防线”也就成了无用之物，随之而来的是封·法尔肯豪森将军制定的美好防御计划恐怕也要完蛋了。如此出乎意料的事，人们可是没有想到！ 雨天！今天连《大陆报》（南京版）也没有送来。印刷工人可能逃跑了。满载行李的人力车、手推车、小汽车和卡车还在日夜不停地开出城去，大都开往江边，因为多数人想去扬子江上游，逃往汉口或汉口以远的地方。与此同时，从北方来了许多新兵团，开进城里。人们看来要坚守这座城市。很多士兵看上去十分狼狈。整个队伍到达时，没有一个人穿鞋袜，也可能是因为正下着雨。所有的人默默走来，没有歌声，也没有说话声。一支望不到尽头、一言不发、精疲力竭的队伍。 昨天我的感觉跟妻子不久前在北平时的一样，那时让她把格蕾特尔和维利房子里的东西打包装箱。我一个房间一个房间地走过来，挑选自己要装入箱子、送上“库特沃”的东西。这时，我才发觉自己多么舍不得这些旧东西。我叫来佣人张（国珍）：“你挑一些你太大喜欢的东西吧！”他听后径直走向卧室里的写字台，取出了集邮册。我尴尬地笑起来，随后我把奥托的照片放了上去，我俩达成了默契。这个小小的插曲却使我兴奋起来。凡是放在地上、靠着皮箱的东西必须拿到楼下去。接着我们装箱，一直忙到半夜。今天上午10时，打点好了第一批6件行李，可以送到码头了。用两辆马车，每辆车费5元。办公室杂工佟（柏青）接受了运输任务。11时，汽艇应该从中山码头驶向“库特沃”。在这段时间里，继续抓紧打包装箱。下午，孔斯特一阿尔贝斯公司的西格尔先生开着一辆卡车来了，取走了另外3个皮箱和里尔茨老师的5个皮箱。因为里尔茨调到了施巴拉托，我就把他的箱子放在了我这儿。晚上7时，杂工佟（柏青）还没有回来，这时候我坐车去了下关，正好赶上汽艇到港。汽艇本来应当上午11时到。 装运行李的时候出现了可怕的混乱，每一个佣人都想先把自己主人的行李安放好。为了防止行李和佣人落入水中，我出面制止，大声喊叫“别忙”，就冲了过去，结果和一个佣人发生了激烈的争吵，他顶撞说：“闪开！这儿你说了不算！我扛的是德国大使阁下的地毯，他第一个！”我一声大喊，封住了他的嘴。他不再吭声了。尽管如此，我还是让他搬运大使的地毯。晚上8时，堆积在栈桥上的600件行李绝大部分都顺利地送上了汽艇。20分钟后，当我们冒着倾盆大雨、摸黑儿把一些妇女和她们的孩子以及行李分别送上船以后，发现里尔茨的一个皮箱不见了，不过后来又找到了。我们全都破口大骂起来。晚上9时，我湿淋淋地、精疲力竭地回到了家。然后我们继续不停地打包装箱，一直干到午夜，直到后来箱子装得不能再装。 在“库特沃”船上还发生了一件事：王太太在行李舱里找到了我，告诉我说，她丈夫（我让他作为她的佣人偷偷上了船）在佣人中间受不了了（他可能没有交够佣金），他自己也没带吃的。总而言之，他们又想下船去，试图坐火车去汉口。请便，随便，随您的意，只当我没有想过这些事一样。拉贝，你活该，这都是那乐于助人的好心肠造成的！ 雨还在不停地下，行李还在不停地包扎。所有的箱子都装满了以后，我们又按最高价买来了蹩脚的樟木箱子。木工给箱子钉上了木板封条，这些封条几乎跟樟木箱子一样贵。一辆马车现在要价6元，而汽车又租不到。第二批行李已经装上了两辆车，又得卸下来，因为我们从电话里得到消息说，汽艇因暴风雨天气不能航行。 我想努力结算好我的往来账目，可是我忙得无法工作。韩先生收进一笔不小的款子。我把本行的绝大部分钱和我个人的2000元汇划到了汉口。所有的工作人员都领到了他们11月份的工资，好让他们在最后一批商店关闭以前能够买些食物等东西。一罐煤油的价钱从4.7元涨到了7元。一吨煤现在28元，而不再是20元。我还能储备一吨煤和4罐煤油，眼下不可能得到更多的东西了。 韩先生还是买不到去汉口的船票，始终无法把他的家人送到安全的地方去。佣人们睁着惊恐的大眼睛走来走去，因为大家以为我也要乘“库特沃”离去。我明确地告诉他们，不管发生什么事情，我都会留在南京。这时候，他们又高兴起来。 成立了一个国际委员会（主要由鼓楼医院的美国医生和在金陵大学任教授的传教士组成）。委员会试图建立一个难民区，即位于城内或城外的一个中立区。一旦城市遭到炮击，非战斗人员可以躲避到那里去。有人问我（我要留在这里的消息已传出）是否愿意参加这个委员会，我表示愿意。晚上在斯迈思教授家吃饭的时候，我结识了很多美国籍的委员。 德国大使馆暂时留下3位先生：许尔特尔、罗森博士和沙尔芬贝格。我不明白为什么把罗森博士留在这里。据我所知，他并没有主动提出留下。所以我请特劳待曼夫人在大使面前说情（大使正好外出不在），请他撤销这个命令。特劳特曼夫人答应尽力试一试。一个不能把全部心思扑在工作上的人，我们要他留在这儿有何用。罗森博士当然对我的干预一无所知，也无需让他知道。礼和洋行的梅尔基奥尔试图说服我改变留在这里的决定，他提醒我注意自己所冒的巨大风险，我谢绝了，我并非盲目参与这一事件，我决心已定。亲爱的多拉，请不要为此生我的气，我别无选择！另外，希尔施贝格大夫全家和封·舒克曼太太以及德士古石油公司的主管汉森先生也都留在这里。可见我不是唯一不顾生命危险的人。韩（湘琳）先生决心与我同甘共苦。这也是我对他唯一的期望。他是一个正直的人！ 尽管气压大大升高了，雨仍旧下个不停，防空洞又被水淹了，而我们没有时间舀干里面的水。我们必须包扎行李，不停地包扎。第二批行李中午运走，由办公室杂工顺利地装上了“库特沃”。韩先生的一个皮箱不幸裂开了，没有时间去修理，只好敞着送上旅途碰运气了。前线的消息越来越糟糕，听说日本人在常熟突破了防线。如果消息属实，苏州将很快失守。还听说日本人已经在清除扬子江上的障碍物了，和我预料的完全一样。我今天可以结算好账目，然后交给里贝带走，他今天晚上去汉口。他订的是“武陵”号的船票。这艘船今天早上已满员，经过南京时没有靠岸就开走了。不过又专门调来了另外一艘名叫“武昌”号的船。一路平安，里贝先生！他实在帮了我很多忙，的确是一个好同事。 刚才我收到了妻子11月9日的来信，附有一封格蕾特尔10月20日从哈尔特恩寄来的信。谢谢，妻子，现在的一封信意味着什么，多么美好的语言都无法表达。何况不可能总是遣词造句，特别是在饭前，两只脚冰冷，就更难了！所以我们还是算了吧！ 下午6时，一家中国报纸出了一期专刊，宣布中国政府要迁移到重庆。南京中央广播电台证实了这个消息，同时宣布要为保卫南京战斗到最后一滴血。 雨水夹着冰雹——我们不可能指望比这更好的天气了。因为一旦日军司令部得知中国政府离开了这里，外国大使馆也已离开，那么可能会有更加猛烈的空袭，至少这是我们的估计。刚才我又把4个装着书籍和瓷器的木箱送上了“库特沃”，但愿装船顺利。还没有得到汽艇是否开往“库特沃”的消息。听说昨天中国士兵持枪没收了汽艇。为了重新得到和使用这条船，德国大使必须首先出面干预。他为此求助于中国外交部。 我的防空洞中的水涨得越来越高，让我发愁。我担心这几天不能使用它，因为我们暂时还没有时间把它里面的水舀干。我正在寻找一个好一些的防空洞。听说现在城里确实有几个经得起轰炸的防空洞，如果我能碰巧给我和我保护的人找到这样的地方，那可好极了！ 电厂厂长白先生请求位在我的房子里。agree!现在总工程师陆法曾先生也来了，想带他妻子以及佣人们住在这儿。由于远洋公司搬上了“库特沃”，校舍空出来了，可以提供给他们使用。 下午1时30分，我坐车去了中山码头，想搭乘定于2时开船的汽艇去“库特沃”查看我的行李。码头上又是前几天那番景象。来来去去的士兵们挤成一团。尽管如此，栈桥的一部分还是被封锁了，因为冯玉祥要启程。正当人群挤得水泄不通的时候，他的卫兵出现了，拔出手枪为他开出一条路。这时，我简直不敢相信自己的眼睛：一个卫兵用他的毛瑟手枪友善地抵住我的肋骨，示意我必须向后退。（毛瑟手枪的保险已经打开，子弹处于待发状态，能让人相信这是真的吗？）下午4时，汽艇终于来了。在“库特沃”上我只有10分钟时间去行李舱里走了一圈，我找到了今天早上运到的最后一批木箱，感到很满意。我向那些安静地坐着打扑克、喝啤酒的旅客们作简短告别以后，坐上已经急得大声鸣笛的汽艇驶回下关。这最后一座通往外界的活动桥梁随之被拆除了。回到家以后，我见到了高将军先生，他请我在紧急情况下接纳他和他的佣人，我答应了。但是把这些人都安排在哪儿，我一时还真的不知道。 我拜访了贝伦施普龙博士先生（他是封·拉梅灿男爵的继任者，目前主管警察局），我想要一个汽车特别通行证，以便在第二次警报拉响后和晚上10时以后也能不受阻拦地开着我的汽车出去（为安全起见，我也应当请人提供这样一个通行证）。贝伦施普龙也是明天去汉口，他刚刚获得了最高统帅颁发的勋章。他让我明天带着他的名片去找警察厅厅长王固磐将军（如果王将军还没有离开的话）。我对王将军很熟悉，从在北平时一直到现在。这件事我本来不必麻烦贝伦施普龙先生，可是，哪怕能帮上一点小忙也行啊！ 上海电台播音员宣布外交部部长王先生将暂时留守南京。人们估计，这样一来外国大使馆就不会撤离，因而也就有可能使南京免遭炮击。我不相信这种哄骗，外交部的各个机构早就撤走了，部长总不会一个人留在这里。我在下关遇见了封·法尔肯豪森将军，他也得到了相同的消息。 天气晴朗，非常好。我的“气压表”又预报对了。 7时30分，我还躺在浴缸里的时候，警报响了，不过只是一场虚惊。 8时又取消了。我的那个鞋匠邻居真该滚开！只要警报一响，他就跑来了，带着老婆、孩子、爷爷、奶奶以及天知道多少其他的亲戚。可是，现在防空洞里的水有75厘米深，却看不到他来参加排水。唉——你听，这时，上海电台播音员正在播放一首优美的歌曲《献给你邻人一片爱》。要是这家伙不来排水的话，也没有办法！ !苦力葛（文海）认为，舀干防空洞里的水太难了，就是说，时间要很长。现在我们给消防队打了电话，请他们带一个合适的水泵来帮助我们，他们暂时答应了。不过，消防队来不来，还得等着瞧。 罗森博士先生打来电话，要求我们几个留下来的德国人10时到腾空了的大使馆里商量将来怎么办。我非得有一个汽车特别通行证不可，否则我就无法走出这座院子！ 厨师曹（保林）生病了，请来了一个中国医生。可是我看不懂诊断书：“内热表寒，不日即愈！” 消防队出洋相了。他们没有给我送来水泵，而是送来了一部中国水车，一个所谓的绞盘。我不会用它。在这段时间里，我把所有能支配的人全都召集起来舀防空洞里的水。应该原谅鞋匠，忘记他原先的一切所作所为。他、他妻子和他的3个孩子，还有他六七个亲戚舀水时很卖力。我们终于把地洞里的水排干了，却遗憾地发现防空洞的一部分即西墙倒塌了，非常讨厌的事。原来帮我钉封条的那个木匠要是还在的话，他就要倒霉了，但是这人已经走掉了。这段时间，这里的警报一个接一个：10时～10时45分的警报是一场虚惊；下午l时～2时40分则发生了一场空中混战。东面一架飞机勇敢地自卫以后，起火坠落。后来又有一架飞机坠毁在南面，看上去好像是飞行员被打死了。可惜我用了望远镜也不能确定被击落的飞行员是哪个国家的。不过，后来听说被打死的飞行员中至少有一个是中国人。高射炮没怎么开火，即便开火了，也都没有击中目标！南面落下一连串的炸弹。停了5分钟以后，警报又重新响起，从下午2时45分到3时20分，这又是一场虚惊。 刘工程师带着罗先生从中央广播电台来了，请我把该台的一部分设备送到“库特沃”船上安全的地方。为此，他许诺给我一部大使曾经提出的功率为100瓦的电台。我们以最快的速度开车去大使那儿。可惜来晚了，特劳特曼博士先生正准备上船。真遗憾，两位先生早几天来就好了。 在两次警报的间隔时间里，我和罗森博士在德国大使馆里交谈。罗森博士还是留在了这里。我的游说毫无作用。 下午5时，国际委员会开会讨论成立一个南京平民中立区。大家选举我当“主席”，我推辞不掉，为了做件好事，我让步了。但愿我能够胜任这个也许会变得十分重要的职务。德国大使在上船前不久通过我的介绍认识了斯迈思博士（委员会秘书）。大使同意委员会草拟的有关建立安全区的建议，该建议将通过美国大使馆（有一个电台）电发给上海美国总领事再转交给日本大使。我们已经获得了英国大使和美国大使的同意。我们在委员会会议上决定：在上海日本大使收到电报以前，不准公开发表电报内容。我们十分希望我们向日本人发出的呼吁不是枉费唇舌。因为这里没有法国人、意大利人，所以委员会里没有法国代表及意大利代表。从英文翻译过来的电文如下： 考虑到可能在南京或南京附近爆发敌对行动这一情况，由丹麦、德国、英国和美国公民组成的国际委员会特此建议中国政府和日本政府为逃难的平民建立一个安全区。 国际委员会有责任取得中国政府的特别保证：撤除拟建的安全区内所有军事设施和包括军事交通指挥机构在内的军事机构；安全区内不准驻扎武装人员，携带手枪的平民警察除外。禁止所有士兵与军事团体进入安全区，无论这些军事团体具有什么性质，无论其军官军衔为何种级别。国际委员会将努力使上述保证得到尊重和令人满意的执行。 以下具体标明的地区，国际委员会认为适合用来保护逃难的平民。这个区域位于城区的西部，迄今为止，日本空军在空袭时始终注意使其免遭破坏。 所建议的安全区界定如下： 东面：以中山路为界，从新街口至山西路交叉路口； 北面：从山西路交叉路口向西划线（即新住宅区的西边界），至西康路； 西面：从上面提到的北界线向南至汉口路中段（呈拱形）（即新住宅区的西南角），再往东南划直线，直至上海路与汉中路交叉路口； 南面：从汉中路与上海路交叉路口起，至新街口起点止。 国际委员会将负责用白色旗帜或其他有待确定的标志清楚地标出这些边界，并将其公布于众。委员会建议从收到双方政府表示完全同意的通知之日起，视安全区为正式建立。 国际委员会特别希望日本政府从人道主义出发，保证安全区的民用性质得到尊重。委员会认为，为平民采取这种人道主义的预防措施，将会给双方负有责任的政府带来荣誉。委员会恳请日本政府迅即回复，以便能够尽快结束与中国政府进行的必要谈判，为保护难民做必要的准备。 国际委员会满怀信心地希望此建议能够得到友善考虑。 顺致崇高的敬意 （作者注：姓名后有×的先生们在被占领期间留在了南京。）